Irrigation valve for drip system



United States Patent [72] Inventor Isaac Ronni Rinkewich, 1,919,4087/1933 Work 138/40 New York, New York 2,025,905 12/1935 Safford 138/40[21] Appl. No. 735,468 2,037,145 4/1936 Palermo 138/42 2: E 1 d #2:Primary Examiner-Laverne D. Geiger i e Ringo mm s stems AssistantExaminerRichard J. Sher I lance New York New g Attorney-Blum, Moscovitz,Friedman & Kaplan 9 a corporation of Delaware [54] IRRIGATION VALVE FORDRIP SYSTEM 1,482,534 2/1924 Woodbridge 220/44-A ABSTRACT: An irrigationvalve comprising a base and cap of generally cylindrical form and havinga bore along the axis of the cylinder, one end of said bore constitutingan inlet and the other end constituting an outlet, the cap on saidoutlet end, and provided with a depending outer flange at its periphery,a depending inner flange fitting within said bore, at least one passagefor flow of liquid between said inner flange and the wall of said bore,a channel from the upper end of each said passage to an exit, said exitbeing between said outer flange and said cylinder, an opening betweensaid passage and said inlet having a smaller cross section than theexit.

Patented Nov. 17, 1970 3,540,483-

, l IRRIGATION VALVE FOR DRIP SYSTEM The" present invention relates to avalve for irrigation systems, morespccifically, a drip valve wherebywater constantly flows out at a comparatively slow rate.

Such valves are of great value in irrigation systems since they have nomoving parts, and provide a steady flow of water. Thereis little wastagedue to evaporation because the water tends tobe absorbed'by the soil,and due to its slow rate of flow there is comparatively little water atthe surface of the soil at any given time.

in practising the invention, there is provided a base of generallycylindrical form having a bore axially thereof. The boreextends throughthe base, and one end is an inlet and the other is an outlet.

A cap is provided which rests on the outlet end, and has a dependingouter flange at the periphery thereof. This flange is so dimensioned asto result in a comparatively small clearance between-its inner wall andthe outer wall of the base. The' gap is of-the order of fourone-thousandths of an inch.

Preferably, the cap is provided with a depending inner flange which fitswithin the bore. In the most desirable embodiment of theinvention, theflange fits within the bore with virtually no clearance between itsouter diameter and the inner wa'llof the'bore. However, at least onepoint on the periphery-a recess exists, forming a channel through whichthe water'm'ay flow, At the lower end of the flange is a shoulderform'cd'by the narrowing of the bore. The inlet end of the bore ispreferably of smaller diameter than the outlet. The lower end of theinner flange approaches closely the shoulder but leaves a clearance ofthe order of two one-thousandths or three 'one thousandths of an inch.

lnregisterwith the upper end of the passage is a channel which permitsthe water to flow from the passage to the space between the outer flangeand the cylinder, constituting an exit for th'efluid.

[thus been found advantageous to recess the upper end of the outer wallof the base providing an enlarged annular chamber which permits theliquid to flow all around the periphery of'the valve and drip outsubstantially uniformly at all points.

It has been found that a valve such as described herein willoperate'very satisfactorily under pressures of the order of pounds persquare inch, and will permit even delivery of approximately 2 gallonsper hour.

In the accompanying drawings constituting a part hereof, andin whichlike reference characters indicate like parts, FlG. l is a verticalcross section of the valve taken along the central axis of the bore; and

FIG; 2 is a cross section along line 2-2of Fit]. 1.

The valve 1 is composed of base 2 and cap 3. Base 2 contains inlet 4axially thereof, which widens out into chamber 7 at th'e'outlet end.

Cap 3 is provided with depending outer flange 11 and depending zinncrflange l2. Flange 12 fits within chamber 7 and has passage 6 cuttherein. The outlet end of chamber 7 has at leasrone' channel 8 cuttherein, so that liquid may flow from passagcfi to'rccess 9. From recess9, the liquid drips out of exit to which is formed between flange II andthe outer wall of base 2.

For most suitable functioning of this valve, space 5 of passage 6 ofsmall cross section is formed. This portion preferably should be ofsmaller cross section than exit 10.

By this means it is insured that no particles contained in the watercan'clog thevalve. If a particle is small enough to pass through space5, it must of necessity be small enough to pass thr'oughannulus' l3,passage 6, channel 8, recess 9, and, most importantly, exitl0.

Although the depth of space 5 is quite small, the fact that liquid willflow radially from inlet 4 into annulus 13 permits a greater flow thanis desired for the valve. The limiting factor is the cross section ofchannel 8 which while higher than space 5, isnoncth'eless of smallertotal area. Merely by controlling the size 'of'channel 8, the rate offlow can easily and accurately be determined.

The comparatively small cross section of exit 10 prevents the entrycfsund or other solids from the outside which are liu ble to-clog thevalve. By suitably selecting the crosssections of opening 5 and exit 10,a valve can easily be constructed which can be mounted wholly or partlybelow the; soil level. Even in such an event the valve will not clog. Q

Although only one embodiment of the present invention has beendisclosed, it is nonetheless to be broadly construed and not tobit-limited except by the character of the claims appended hereto.

lclaim:

1. An irrigation valve comprising a base and a cap, said base includinga base wall having an inlet bore substantially centrally thereof andan'upstanding flange surrounding said inlet bore, said base wall havinga first surface within said upstanding flange, said cap including acover portion, an outer depending flange and an inner depending flange,the outside diameter of said inner depending flange being substantiallyequal to the inside diameter of said upstanding flange whereby said capis frictionally secured to said base, the outermost end of said innerflange being spaced from said first surface to define a first passagecommunicating with said inlet bore, second passage means defining asecond passage between said inner flange'and said upstanding flange forcommunication with said first passage, the outermost end of saidupstanding flange adapted for engagement with the inner surface of saidcover portion, third passage means defining a third passage between saidoutermost end of said upstanding flange and said cover portion forcommunication with said second passage, and said outer depending flangebeing spaced from the outside surface of said upstanding flange todefine a fourth passage communicating between said third passage and theexterior of said valve, said fourth passage defining the outlet of saidvalve, the outer surface of said inner depending flange having anannular groove adjacent the end of said depending flange 2. Anirrigation valve comprising a base and a cap, said base:

including a base wall having an inlet bore substantially centrallythereof and an upstanding flange surrounding said inlet bore, said basewall having a first surface within said upstanding flange, said capincluding a cover portion, an outer depending flange and an innerdepending flange, the outside diameter of said inner depending flangebeing substantially equal to the inside diameter of said upstandingflange whereby said cap isfrictionally secured to said base, theoutermost end of said inner flange being spaced from said first surfaceto define a first passage communicating with said inlet bore, secondpassage means defining a second passage between said inner flange andsaid upstanding flange for communication with said first passage, theoutermost end of said upstanding flange adapted for engagement with theinner surface of said cover portion, third passage means defining athird passage between'said outermost end of said upstanding flange andsaid cover portion for communication with said second passage, and saidouter depending flange being spaced from the outside surface of saidupstanding flange to define a fourth passage communicating between saidthird passage and the exterior of said valve, said fourth passagedefining the'outlet ofsaid valve,

the outer surface of said upstanding flange having an annular.

groove adjacent the end of said upstanding flange.

3. An irrigation valve comprising a base and a cap, said base includinga base wall having an inlet bore substantially centrally thereof and anupstanding flange surrounding said inlet bore, said base wall having afirst surface within said upstanding flange, said cap including a coverportion, an outer depending flange and an inner depending flange, theoutside diameter of said inner depending flange being substantiallyequal to the inside diameter of said upstanding flange whereby said capisfrictionally secured to said base, the outer most end of'said innerflange being spaced from said first surface to define a first passagecommunicating with said'inlet bore, second passage means defining asecond passage between said inner flange and said upstanding flange forcommunication with said first passage, the outermost end of saidupstanding flange adapted for engagement with the inner surface of saidthe total cross-sectional area of said third passage being less than thetotal cross-sectional area of said first passage, and the distancebetween the outermost end of said inner flange and 5 said first surfacebeing less than thelau'gest cross-sectional dimensionofsaidthirdpassage-definingmeans. I

